lemon bar cookies

These cookies are the love child of a lemon bar and a thumbprint cookie. They are made with a buttery & soft, shortbread type of dough, filled with a bright & tart lemon curd, and dusted with powdered sugar. These are so easy to make and perfect to make during winter when citrus fruit is at its peak.

why you’ll love lemon bar cookies

• They are a soft, buttery cookie and full of bright lemon flavor thanks to a delicious, homemade lemon curd made with lemon zest and fresh squeezed lemon juice.
• They are made with a very easy lemon curd that tastes incredible, and the lemon curd recipe makes exactly the amount you need to make the cookies.
• These cookies have a very minimal and convenient chill time- chill one tray while preparing the other and chill the second tray while baking the first tray.

ingredients in lemon bar cookies

lemon curd

• granulated sugar– Sugar aids in the texture and sweetness of homemade lemon curd.
• lemon zest– Lemon zest has even more lemon flavor than the lemon juice, so adding it to lemon curd will make a much more lemony flavor. In the end, we’ll strain it out so that the texture of our curd isn’t chunky. Try to get organic lemons since they don’t have wax on them, but if you can only find regular lemons it’s fine. Wash them well!
• lemon juice– Lemon juice is responsible for the liquid and flavor of our curd. Do not swap this out for store-bought lemon juice. However, I have been known to splash a bit of store-bought lemon juice into my measuring cup when my fresh squeezed juice came up short.
• egg yolks & an egg– This recipe uses four yolks and one whole egg as the thickener. This is a perfect way to use up egg yolks after making an egg white recipe, but if you don’t already have egg yolks to use up, now you’ll have egg whites to use up. Make meringue cookies, Eton mess, mini pavlovas, or meringue kisses.
• butter– I am using unsalted, but let’s be honest, salted butter will not make this too salty. Butter will make the curd silky and creamy.
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt– (Don’t swap this for another salt if you can. It is the BEST salt for baking. Grab a box here. However, if you only have table salt or a fine sea salt available, use half the amount of salt called for in this recipe, which would be ¾ tsp.)

cookie dough

• butter– (I use unsalted, but if you use salted butter, everything will be fine. I promise. If you’re worried, lower the salt by ¼ teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt.)
• granulated sugar– Of course sugar adds sweetness, but it is also important for creating the texture of this cookie.
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt– (Don’t swap this for another salt if you can. It is the BEST salt for baking. Grab a box here. However, if you only have table salt or a fine sea salt available, use half the amount of salt called for in this recipe, which would be ¾ tsp.)
• lemon zest– This is optional but adds a pop of lemon flavor to the buttery cookie. If you have some extra zest, why not?
• vanilla bean paste or extract– Vanilla bean paste is a secret weapon for baking! Get a bottle here or here. However, plain vanilla extract is fine. Don’t use imitation vanilla or ‘baking’ vanilla if you can. Classic, pure vanilla extract is the way to go.
• lemon paste– This is totally optional, but I happened to have some Nielsen Massey lemon paste that I need to use up. Using it will just add a bit more lemon flavor to the cookie.
• egg yolks– You could just use a whole large egg instead of two egg yolks, but the yolks give more tenderness to the dough thanks to the fat content in a yolk. (Don’t toss your whites! Make angel food cake, pavlovas, or meringues.)
• all purpose flour
• baking powder– to lighten the cookie
• cornstarch– makes this dough even more tender

supplies needed to make lemon bar cookies

• microplane/zester
• instant read thermometer (to check the temp of the curd)
• sieve (to strain the curd)
• hand mixer or stand mixer
• scale (trust me on this)
• #30 cookie scoop, like this one
• spatula
• measuring spoons
• cookie sheets, two half sheet
• parchment paper- this is my favorite

how to make lemon bar cookies

These lemon bar cookies are the perfect combination of buttery, soft cookie and creamy, sweet-tart lemon curd. Their crackly edges, ring of powdered sugar, and bright yellow centers make them a pretty cookie to add to a cookie box, serve as dessert, or snack on as an afternoon pick-me-up.

make the lemon curd first

This is the easiest, stress-free lemon curd. If you’ve never made lemon curd, don’t be scared. It’s not as complicated as it seems. I’ve been testing my lemon curd recipe for years, and this is my favorite iteration so far with the most lemon flavor, perfect balance of sweetness, and least eggy flavor.

To your pot, add the granulated sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Using either your fingertips or a spatula, rub the zest into the sugar until it looks like wet, yellow sand. This pulls the oil (aka, flavor) from the lemon zest into the sugar, therefore making a more flavorful lemon curd.

Pour the fresh squeezed lemon juice into the pan with the sugar mixture and stir until combined. Add the eggs and whisk well to combine. Place the pot on the stovetop at medium-low heat, stirring constantly. It will thicken quickly and without stirring, the curd will thicken unevenly and become chunky. Once temperature reaches 170F, or when the mixture is thick and evenly coats the back of the spatula, remove from heat and pour into a sieve that is resting in a heat proof bowl. Whisk in the butter until it is melted.

Store lemon curd in the refrigerator while waiting for the next step. Cover the top of the curd with cling film to prevent it from developing a skin.

make the cookie dough

This dough is incredibly easy to make. It starts out by creaming room temperature butter with sugar, lemon zest, and salt. Make sure to mix the butter and sugar for a few minutes until it lightens in color and looks less grainy.

Add the egg yolks, vanilla, and lemon paste/extract (if using) to the creamed mixture and mix until it is emulsified. The mixture will be thick and smooth.

Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and cornstarch) and mix just until the dough comes together and there are no more dry pockets. You don’t want to over-mix this or the dough will be tough.

how to shape & fill lemon bar cookies

Scoop the dough into balls immediately after making the dough using a #30 cookie scoop. You’ll get 18 balls of dough that weigh approximately 40g-42g. Roll each ball in powdered sugar to coat before placing on a parchment lined baking sheet. I fit nine cookies on each sheet for a total of two sheets.

Using a tablespoon measuring spoon, press a divot into each ball of dough. The dough may crack on the edges, but gently press the dough back together. Using your fingers, pinch the edges of the thumbprint shape to thin them out while keeping the height. Press the center of the dough down slightly so that it is not very thick, but be careful not to make it too thin.

Evenly divide the lemon curd among the prepared cookies, about a heaping tablespoon each. While preparing the second sheet of cookies, if you find that you have either not enough or too much lemon curd left, either share some with the cookies chilling in the fridge or steal some from the cookies chilling in the fridge.

help, my butter is cold!

This recipe requires the use of room temperature butter. This can be confusing though, because rooms are all different temperatures depending on how cold/warm you keep your house. Typically, room temperature butter is about 68 F – 72 F. However, my house is 66 F in the winter, so even if I leave my butter out all night, it is a little cold. A fridge is 40 F, so butter straight from the fridge is way too cold to use in a recipe like this. To quickly solve the problem, I microwave my butter sticks for 2-3 seconds, flip them over, microwave for another 2-3 seconds until they have a nice texture that is not soft but is more pliable. I leave them in the wrapper for this. Do NOT melt or warm the butter. Just take the chill out.

Using too-cold butter for a butter cookie dough will cause lumps of butter to be throughout your dough that makes your cookies bake unevenly with little pools of melting butter in the oven. It’s not ideal. Just quickly soften your butter.

help, my eggs are cold!

Since most people keep their eggs in the fridge, eggs are always going to be cold before baking. There is almost a 0% chance that I will be preparing enough to take my eggs out an hour or two before baking. The best way to quickly get an egg ready to go is to place it in a cup of really warm water while prepping the rest of your ingredients. Adding a cold egg to a creamed butter mixture can cause the butter to harden in places, resulting in little lumps of butter that are pretty impossible to get rid of.

success tips for making lemon bar cookies

• ‘Mise en place’ is a French phrase with the idea of putting everything in its place before beginning to make a recipe. It helps everything to go smoothly and eliminates so much possible stress. Getting all of your supplies and ingredients together before ever starting the recipe will help tremendously.
• Weigh your ingredients, particularly the flour. It is the most important measurement in this recipe to weigh. Flour can be off in volume measurements by up to 30g, which is a quarter cup! Having incorrect flour measurements can cause your cookies to spread too much or, alternatively, be dry and crumbly. Weighing your ingredients makes everything so much easier, as you don’t have to wash all the measuring cups at the end. However, I do not use the scale to weigh out teaspoon or tablespoon measurements for things like baking powder, salt, vanilla, or cornstarch, for example.
• Room temperature ingredients make all the difference in baking lemon bar cookies.
• Creaming the butter/sugar mixture really well will make a lighter, more tender cookie.
• Chill time is very minimal in this recipe; you only need to chill each sheet of cookies for about 15 minutes.
• Don’t overtake them. These cookies are meant to be on the softer side. They’ll be a bit crispy at the edges, but we are not looking for a lot of browning. Bake them until they start getting a bit golden at the bottom edges.

FAQs

• Can I use store bought lemon curd? While I haven’t tried it myself, I don’t see why not! If you do try it, let me know how it goes!
• Can I use store bought lemon juice when making the curd? I do NOT recommend using store bought lemon juice in the curd. Fresh squeezed lemon juice is infinitely better, and you only need a couple of lemons.
• Will I have leftover lemon curd from the homemade recipe? No, this recipe makes the exact amount of curd that you need. If you double the cookies, double the curd. If you want extra curd for something else, double the recipe.
• How do I store lemon bar cookies? Store lemon bar cookies in an airtight container at room temperature if they’ll be consumed within the day. However, if you plan on keeping them around for longer, store them in the fridge. These cookies get even softer with time. I like them even more the second day.

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